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Visa Bulletin

As soon as you have sent your DS-260 form to the US authorities, the next step toward your Green Card is the interview appointment at the US embassy. In the following you will find out what role the Visa Bulletin plays here and how you can find out when your appointment is!

What is the Visa Bulletin?

The Visa Bulletin is published by the U.S. State Department on a regular basis. It gives you the chance to determine with the help of your case number (you will find this number on your winner's notification from the KCC), when your interview appointment might take place.

The U.S. authorities communicate via the Visa Bulletin which Green Card applications are being processed in the current and following month. If you are selected as a lucky Green Card winner this May, you will not need to check the Visa Bulletin until October.

Your application should have been processed a while ago and you still haven’t heard from the U.S. authorities? Please contact the KCC (Kentucky Consular Center) through +1-606-526-7500 or via email [email protected]. Please have in mind, that only the actual winner can request case-related information.

How do I find out about my interview appointment?

Once your case number is current in the Visa Bulletin, you can check your status via https://www.dvlottery.state.gov/. There you will see the exact time and date of your interview appointment. Please print it out and bring it with you to the US embassy. Please note: A postal invitation is no longer sent out!

Even though your Case number is current doesn’t mean that you will get an appointment straight away. You might have to wait for the next month or even two or three months on top of that. Another factor that affects the scheduling is when the KCC receives your actual green card application. The later you submit the online form, the more the interview date can be postponed.

Basically, the following applies: The lower your case number, the sooner you are invited to the interview appointment. Normally you will receive a notification four to eight weeks prior to your interview.

March 2024 - Case Numbers & Interviews

Relevant for winners of DV2024

Region Case Number
Africa 40,000
(Except:
Algeria: 35,000
Egypt: 25,000
Morocco: 27,500)
Asia 7,000
(Except:
Iran: 6,750
Nepal: 5,000)
Europe 16,000
(Except:
Russia: 15,500
Uzbekistan: 5,750)
North America (Bahamas) 13
Oceania 1,200
South America and the Carribean 2,200

February 2024 - Case Numbers & Interviews

Relevant for winners of DV2024

Region Case Number
Africa 26,500
(Except:
Algeria: 26,000
Egypt: 25,000
Morocco: 25,000)
Asia 5,500
(Except:
Iran: 5,450
Nepal: 4,500)
Europe 13,500
(Except:
Russia: 13,250
Uzbekistan: 5,500)
North America (Bahamas) 5
Oceania 875
South America and the Carribean 1,600

Waiting time for family-sponsored and employment-based applications

Furthermore, we would like to announce the following waiting periods for immigration via family or employment (extract from the official version). The number of these Green Cards is subject to an annual quota, i.e. 226,000 visas for family reunification. This can result in waiting times of several years depending on the degree of relationship.

The action dates below show the date of the first applicant who could not be processed within the annual quota. This means that all applicants with a date earlier than the one below should be notified and submit their visa application to the National Visa Center (NVC).

A "C" means that all cases are "current". Depending on the workload of the authorities, however, the waiting time until approval can still be about 1 year. A "U" stands for "unauthorized", i.e. these visas are not authorized for issuance.

"Final Action Dates" for Family-Sponsored Preferences

Visa Category Final Action Date
F1    (unmarried sons and daughters(21 years or older) of US citizens) 08FEB15
F2A  (Spouses and minor children (under 21) of permanent residents) 22JUN20
F2B  (unmarried sons and daughters (21 or older) of permanent residents) 22NOV15
F3    (Married sons and daughters of US citizens) 01OCT09
F4    (Brothers and sisters of US citizens) 08JUN07

"Final Action Dates" for Employment-Based Preferences

Visa Category Final Action Date
1st C
2nd 22NOV22
3rd 08SEP22
Other workers 08SEP20
4th 01DEC19
Certain Religious Workers 01DEC19
5th Unreserverd (C5, T5, and all others) C
5th Unreserved (I5 and R5) C
5th Set Aside: Rural (20%) C
5th Set Aside: High Unemployment (10%) C
5th Set Aside: Infrastructure (2%) C

For more information you can check out the official website of the U.S. Department of State.

The interview at the US Consulate is part of the immigration process. We have summarized all the steps until you receive your Green Card. The first step is to participate in the current Green Card Lottery. If you win, your spouse and children under 21 will automatically receive a Green Card as well - without any waiting time!